The IT@UofT 2024 conference will offer opportunities to learn and network with staff and faculty from across the tri-campus community.

Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

Registration: Pick up your conference badge

Your conference badge is required to enter the keynote presentation at Convocation Hall and other sessions at Myhal Centre due to increased security and building access restrictions. Please pick up your badge at the registration desk in the Bahen Atrium before heading over to Convocation Hall. The registration desk opens at 7:15 a.m. on May 8.

If you will not be attending the keynote presentation, when you arrive please pick up your badge in the Bahen Atrium at the registration/information desk.

IT@UofT 2024 information desk

If you have questions during the conference, visit the information desk to speak with our volunteers and conference organizers.

May 8

10:15 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Atrium, Bahen Centre for Information Technology

May 9

8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Atrium, Bahen Centre for Information Technology

Atrium in the Bahen Centre for Information Technology

May 8, 2024

Time

Location

Activity

7:15 – 10:15 a.m.

Atrium, Bahen Centre for Information Technology

Registration

8:40 – 8:50 a.m.

Convocation Hall

Welcome from IT@UofT 2024 co-chair:

Bo Wandschneider, Chief Information Officer, U of T

8:50 – 9:50 a.m.

Convocation Hall

Keynote presentation: Four short questions about AI. Student. Professor. IT professional. Human.

Mark Daley, Chief AI Officer, Western University

9:50 – 10:15 a.m.

Bahen Centre, 1st floor, The Cube

Refreshment break

10:15 – 11:05 a.m.

Bahen Centre

Breakout sessions: Block 1

Bahen Centre, B025

M365 tools for data analysis, reporting and communications

Speaker: Luke Sutherland, Senior Business Analyst, Information Security

A demonstration of the M365 infrastructure approach used by Information Security to rapidly deliver and iterate multiple reporting products supporting the Information Security Strategic Plan.

Bahen Centre, BA 1220

Scaling for business continuity: Another modernization journey on Azure

Speakers:
  • Sarosh Jamal, DevOps Administrator, EASI, ITS
  • Praveen Narayanaswamy, Manager, SAP Technical Administration and Innovation, ITS
  • Andrew Tomkins, Cloud Solutions Developer, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions, ITS
This collaborative presentation explores the evolution of U of T’s cloud modernization strategy, transitioning from cost-cutting measures to achieving higher security, scalability and availability.

The session is targeted towards various divisional IT and business teams seeking to move beyond basic cloud migration and leverage Azure as well as our enterprise IT teams’ capabilities to achieve a secure, scalable and future-proof platform.

Attendees will gain insights into:

  • Evolving cloud strategies: transitioning from cost-saving measures to high availability and scalability.
  • Building a secure multi-region environment: leveraging Azure services for cost-effective availability disaster recovery.
  • Intelligent operations in the cloud: implementing proactive monitoring for business continuity and peak performance.

Bahen Centre, BA 2159

Why your site may still not be accessible

Speaker: Chris Sabatinos, Web Accessibility Specialist (AODA), Division of People Strategy, Equity and Culture

Communications technology requires a blend of rules and freedoms to allow for creativity and expression. Automated tools are available but are naïve out of necessity. This presentation is an exploration of the intersection of humans, design decisions and (sometimes AI) tools.

Bahen Centre, BA 2145

Augmenting customer support with AI-powered Copilot chatbots

Speaker: Jose Manuel Lopez Lujan, Manager, Server Storage and Virtualization, EIS, ITS

The ITS Private Cloud team in Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions deployed a chatbot to enhance customer service by automating responses to frequent queries, enabling staff to focus on more complex tasks. This initiative, supported by detailed documentation and general AI, reduced the workload on employees and improved operational efficiency. The project demonstrated the potential of AI tools like retrieval augmented generation to boost collaboration and workflow, with broader implications for AI integration in University IT services.

Bahen Centre, BA 2179

Evolution of the Information Risk Management Program

Speakers:
  • Rishi Arora, Risk Program Coordinator
  • Jeffrey Waldman, Manager, Institutional Data Governance
The Data Asset Inventory and Information Risk Self-Assessment (DAI-IRSA) program has been a cornerstone of the risk management efforts at U of T. It has empowered both academic and administrative divisions to assess their information risk exposure based on factors such as data, roles, processes, systems and sensitivity.

However, as the landscape of information security evolves, so must our approach. Rishi and Jeffrey will share the journey of DAI-IRSA and how recent enhancements are supporting the evolution of the Information Security Risk Management Program. They will also highlight the collaborative nature of these efforts between two critical streams – information security and data governance. Together, they strive to achieve robust data protection.

11:05 – 11:10 a.m.

Bahen Centre

Break

11:10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Myhal Centre

Breakout sessions: Block 2

Myhal Centre, MY 150

The business case for MedIT and joining forces with ITS to launch AD-as-a-service

Speakers:
  • Dimitris Keramidas, Director, MedIT
  • Deyves Fonseca, Acting Chief Information Security Officer

On May 1, 2023, MedIT was launched to consolidate a disconnected IT environment within the faculty and also provide comprehensive and enterprise IT services to Temerty Medicine. At the same time and throughout 2023, MedIT and Information Security/EASI have been collaborating on preparing to launch AD-as-a-service, as well as a suite of other platforms and tools designed to reinvigorate central services offered to divisions.

Dimitris and Deyves will co-present this initiative and talk about how we can elevate our services by working together.

Myhal Centre, MY 380

Our Information Security Strategy journey

Speakers:
  • Kalyani Khati, Associate Director, Information Security Strategic Initiatives, Information Security
  • Raphaelle Gauriau, Acting Associate Director, Operations, Information Security
U of T’s Information Security Strategy provides a shared direction for security and privacy at the University and drives institutional and unit level efforts to enable U of T’s mission, reduce our top security risks and improve alignment with regulatory and compliance requirements.

The speakers will walk you through the journey of defining, releasing and executing the strategy, highlighting achievements and providing a glimpse of what lies ahead. You will learn about the structures built to foster effective collaboration and navigate human dynamics, and how Information Security is translating the strategic vision into actionable initiatives. They will discuss the challenges and breakthroughs and share insights on the lessons learned along the way.

Myhal Centre, MY 330

Nursing IT service model – The journey of IT service delivery in a single department faculty

Speaker: Omar Malik, Director, Technology Services, Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

Omar will provide an overview of the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing IT service model, discussing its evolving journey to provide efficient IT services through teamwork and collaboration with centralized services and ongoing work to derive the highest value from the unit-level IT resources.

Myhal Centre, MY 320

Facilitate marking with MarkUs

Speakers:
  • Donny Wong, Teaching Applications Technical Lead, Computer Science Department
  • Samuel Maldonado, CS Teaching Applications Programmer/Analyst, Computer Science Department
MarkUs is a web application for marking student submissions. It is widely used in the Department of Computer Science, with increasing adoption in other departments. In this session, the speakers will introduce MarkUs and its various features. Among these is the ability to automatically test and mark student code submissions in various programming languages. Additionally, MarkUs provides tools for managing marking between instructors and TAs, as well as for students to collaborate and provide peer reviews of their classmates’ assignments.

Myhal Centre, MY 430

Carbon emissions and circularity in IT

Speaker: Brian Sutherland, Faculty Liaison, Arts & Science

This presentation explores the question: how can we and do we use computers in ways that generate or reduce carbon, enhance circular IT and bring positive value to U of T’s IT community and beyond? Brian will review various research propositions and discuss a variety of U of T programs and projects that touch this issue. After the talk, there will be a brief discussion and sharing of ideas in consideration for the future direction of circularity projects in IT.

Myhal Centre, MY 490

Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) at U of T

Speaker: Simon Cheng, IAM Developer, Information Security

This session provides a crucial overview of SSL/TLS certificates, detailing their functionality and the necessity for secure web communications. Attendees will:

  • Discover how U of T optimizes certificate management through ACME, adapting to industry demands for shorter certificate lifetimes.
  • Explore ACME’s role in automating the renewal and management of SSL/TLS certificates, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring ongoing compliance and security.
  • Learn how to implement ACME to keep your digital resources secure with minimal effort, even as certificate lifetimes decrease from years to months.

12 – 1 p.m.

Myhal Centre, 1st and 2nd floor, Lee & Margaret Lau Auditorium

Lunch

1 – 1:50 p.m.

Myhal Centre

Breakout sessions: Block 3

Myhal Centre, MY 150

Better Together: Our security awareness & training journey

Speakers:
  • Raphaelle Gauriau, Acting Associate Director, Operations, Information Security
  • John Stewart, Information Security Program Manager, UTSC

In today’s digital landscape, cyber security threats loom large, and educational institutions are no exception. At U of T, we embarked on a mission to foster a culture of security across our three campuses.

Join the speakers as they share their journey, challenges and successes in implementing a comprehensive Security Awareness and Training Program (SATP). This presentation will highlight the power of collaboration across teams and divisions, via strong partnerships. We are Secure Together.

Myhal Centre, MY 490

UTSC’s AuRA system: Delivering better, faster and more reliable lecture capture

Speakers:
  • Blake Markle, Manager, Events, Filming and Classroom Experience, IITS UTSC
  • Kevin Meharchand, Classroom Recording Multimedia Technician, IITS UTSC
Now in its second year, UTSC’s award-winning AuRA classroom recording system uses AI-powered auto-tracking cameras, video-over-IP and all-digital capture to offer students and staff a next-generation online lecture viewing experience.

Blake and Kevin will cover the design, implementation and lessons learned from the first year of AuRA’s operation and discuss future improvements.

Myhal Centre, MY 330

Enterprise service management with ServiceNow – Outcomes beyond IT

Speakers:
  • Elias Karamitsos, Service Delivery Lead, IITS UTSC
  • Sheril Chacko, Senior Business Analyst, PMO, IITS UTSC
  • Feresa Khan, Senior Business Analyst, IITS UTSC
  • Kevin Yang, Sr. Business Analyst, IITS UTSC
  • Michael Zhou, ServiceNow Architect, Application Development, IITS UTSC
  • Hanan Domloge, Project Manager, IITS UTSC
UTSC recently embarked on an aspirational journey to drive digital transformation through the application of a holistic service management capability for UTSC service partners. Attendees will gain insight into UTSC’s innovative approach to enterprise service management, where non-IT service partners were elevated from convoluted shared Outlook mailboxes into streamlined and secure ServiceNow request fulfilment solutions.

The speakers will present the many solutions they’ve delivered, how they support collaboration across service units, and reveal how they plan to extend these capabilities to address the challenges around staff onboarding services. In the latter part of this presentation, they will provide attendees with an understanding of the developer’s journey, from complexity to clarity.

Myhal Centre, MY 320

Click, connect, create: Strategies for effective teamwork online

Speakers:
  • Meagan Lau, Information Systems Analyst, EASI
  • Janelle Seto, Student Advising Services, EASI
Do you struggle with online stakeholder collaboration? Do you find it challenging to collect feedback and engage with a large group of staff effectively? Whether you’re a business analyst, project lead, or involved in collaborative projects online, this session will equip you with tools and ideas to effectively elicit information from a large group of stakeholders.

The speakers will share their experience navigating stakeholder collaboration across five faculties while developing a portal for the Salesforce Student Advising Service project, aimed at enhancing student advising services at U of T. The session will look at the process used, merging the use of a collaborative visual workspace (Miro) with traditional tools like PowerPoint.

Myhal Centre, MY 380

Microsoft Copilot: Tools for work, teaching and learning

Speaker: Derek Hunt, Faculty Liaison, ARC/CTSI

The University offers eligible staff, instructors and students access to Microsoft Copilot, an advanced AI-powered chatbot, search engine and content creator. It features multi-modal capabilities, supporting tasks such as generating images, interpreting image information and aiding in coding. The enterprise version of Copilot improves the privacy and security for the University community and can be used with certain University data. Derek will demonstrate how to effectively access and use Copilot in your own department with grounded content sources.

Please bring your laptop to participate as we collaboratively explore and share creative uses for this new tool. We recommend having the Microsoft Edge web browser installed, as it will provide additional features.

1:50 – 1:55 p.m.

Bahen Centre

Break

1:55 – 2:45 p.m.

Bahen Centre

Breakout sessions: Block 4

Bahen Centre, BA 1170

You are not alone. Learn about supply chain risk and the teams who work to reduce this risk.

Speakers:
  • Kanupriya Kejriwal, Risk Manager, Information Security
  • Sue McGlashan, Research Information Security Lead, Information Security
  • Natasha Reis-Frenette, Research Security Advisor, VPRI
There is risk in everything we do, and it seems every time we turn around there is a new risk. This talk will focus on how we are preparing for the increasing risks emerging from our third parties and their third parties. The Information Security team, in collaboration with other teams at U of T, are developing new processes and guidelines to minimize these risks. They will share information on:

  • What is supply chain risk?
  • Why is it important to treat this risk?
  • What are the current processes at the University?
  • What can you do about it?

The speakers also want to hear from you – what else would you like to know or what do you want to add?

Bahen Centre, BA 1220

United we advance: A collaborative approach to University IT system enhancements

Speakers:
  • Cris Diaconu, Senior Information Systems Analyst, EASI
  • Elicia Wilkinson, Information Systems Analyst, Salesforce Services Team, EASI
Join this session to hear from Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI) staff members who are working to develop an automated and transparent intake process for system enhancements. Originally developed to support a single application, the process is now being adapted to create a reusable blueprint that can be used for a broad portfolio of applications across the University. Cris and Elicia will share how they leveraged Microsoft tools that are available to the U of T community to build the process, as well as their lessons learned and goals for the future.

Bahen Centre, BA 2145

Tech2U, classroom accessibility and instructor support

Speakers:
  • Steven Bailey, Director, Learning Space Management
  • Natalie Wallace-Schlieffer, Manager, Classroom Planning & Technology Services
  • Michael Nicholson, Director, Accessibility Services
  • Adina Burden, Assistant Director, Accessibility Services

Inclusivity and accessibility are important values for U of T to ensure that all students, regardless of their background, abilities or circumstances, have equal opportunities to succeed academically and socially. The speakers will share how Tech2U, an initiative of Learning Space Management, partnered with Accessibility Services to provide solutions to address classroom technical needs through understanding the instructors’ pedagogical goals and the students’ accommodations.

Attend this session to:

  • Understand our students’ accessibility challenges and how technology can enable them
  • Learn how Tech2U’s focus can support the technology solutions and universal design for learning for instructors and students
  • Learn more about solutions co-created with the instructor in collaboration with Accessibility Services

Bahen Centre, BA 2159

Streamlining governance leveraging technology: The Nomination Management System

Speakers:
  • Ninu Varghese, Manager, Information Technology
  • Althea Webster, Business & Quality Analyst
Ensuring effective governance within the University is crucial, particularly when it comes to selecting the right individuals for the Governing Council. However, traditional paper-based nomination procedures proved to be inefficient and time-consuming. Attendees will learn about how the Nomination Management System (NMS) has revolutionized this process, offering a contemporary and user-friendly platform for managing council nominations by the returning officers.

By embracing modern methodologies and fostering collaboration, we’ve created a system that not only simplifies procedures but also mitigates the risks associated with outdated practices, paving the way for a more efficient and effective governance structure within our University.

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.

Bahen Centre, 1st floor, The Cube

Coffee break

3:15 – 4:05 p.m.

Bahen Centre

Breakout sessions: Block 5

Bahen Centre, BA 1170

Sharing insights on inclusive and socially responsible IT procurement

Speakers:
  • Laurie Harrison, Director, Digital Learning Innovation
  • Annie Hua, Project Manager, ARC
  • Keshav Raina, Administrative Officer, Business Operations & Administration
Join Laurie, Annie and Keshav as they facilitate a process of information-gathering and discussion on topics at the intersection of social responsibility and technology to contribute to the development of the new Sustainability Toolkit, a resource developed by Procurement Services for University staff to integrate social and environmental considerations into procurement practices. The speakers invite the ITS community to draw upon their workplace experience and provide input to identify practices that promote equity, diversity, inclusivity, accessibility and ethics when sourcing IT solutions and services.

Bahen Centre, BA 2145

Optimizing for AI: How retrieval augmented generation will impact the future of websites

Speaker: Chris Boutet, Director, Content Innovation, U of T Communications

Is RAG (retrieval augmented generation) the new SEO?  For years, web content and design has centred around search engine optimization, with the goal of having our web pages appear high in search results and generating traffic to our sites. But what happens when search giants stop sending humans to us, and start using AI chatbots to serve up information off our websites instead?

In this lecture, Chris will cover what RAG is, how generative AI chatbots are accessing and pulling information on the real-time web, and discuss how this might impact how we structure and measure effectiveness on our websites.

Bahen Centre, BA 2159

The analytics advantage: Unveiling network usage patterns for security

Speakers:
  • Carl Chan, Manager, Visibility and Infrastructure Security, Information Security
  • Matthew Norrie, Detection Engineer, Information Security

A short presentation showing the types of data security tools collect, how you can use that data to improve your understanding of your network and how to protect it. If you don’t have that kind of visibility today, you will also learn how Information Security’s upcoming services will help you gain that insight.

Bahen Centre, BA 1220

AI, predictive analytics and the modal bacter

Speaker: Marden Paul, Director, Planning, Governance & Assessment, Office of the CIO

AI seems to have magical abilities. Why? We’ll investigate ideas like the modal bacter, the 400 hitters in baseball, Cambridge Analytica and opinion prediction, and the basis of AI models. Maybe it isn’t magical? Maybe it is. We’ll see.

4:05 – 4:10 p.m.

Bahen Centre

Break

4:10 – 5 p.m.

Bahen Centre

Breakout sessions: Block 6

Bahen Centre, BA 1170

De-mystifying top security risks for the University

Speakers:
  • Kanupriya Kejriwal, Risk Manager, Information Security
  • Sue McGlashan, Research Information Security Lead, Information Security
  • Carl Chan, Manager, Visibility and Infrastructure Security, Information Security
  • Michael Laurentius, Research Information Security Specialist, Information Security
This talk is about the top security risks for U of T and will be followed by a Q&A. What are risks, and why do the ones we outline concern us most? How do threats, vulnerabilities and impacts fit into this? The speakers will share real-world examples to make these ideas relatable. Most importantly, they will talk about what these risks mean to all of us and what we can do about them. Your interaction through the Q&A will strengthen this discussion – the speakers look forward to your questions and contributions.

Bahen Centre, BA 1220

Modern AI and information security: A complicated relationship

Speaker: John DiMarco, Director, Information Technology, Computer Science

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly sophisticated, it’s not just transforming how we secure our digital world, it’s challenging our very notions of information security. A new “arms race” is developing between attackers and defenders in the information security space around AI, and powerful AI techniques are being leveraged on both sides.

Learn how AI – founded on the computer science research done at U of T – is changing the information security landscape. This presentation will explore these developments in an accessible and engaging manner, suitable for a wide audience.

Bahen Centre, BA 2159

First few steps to consider when integrating AI into a course

Speaker: Otto Yung, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Management, UTM

Participants will learn about the different ways to integrate AI into a course and the steps to get started. Otto will discuss concepts from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) AI Quick Study Series with examples used in a social science curriculum.

The session will cover:

  • Writing effective AI prompts through reflective questioning to efficiently craft engaging course announcements.
  • Relying on AI to create teaching materials and resources to support student learning.
  • Developing a basic competency in creating assignments.
  • Instilling awareness among students about using AI responsibly with clear expectations and teaching them to use the tools to complement their learning.

Bahen Centre, BA 2179

Plastic food, information security and the ITIL service catalogue: Selecting satisfying security services swiftly

Speaker: Peter St. Onge, Security Services Manager, Information Security

In Japan, a common practice for some restaurants is the use of amazingly realistic plastic replicas (called “Shokuhin Sampuru”) rather than photographs to give prospective diners clear expectations of the dishes they might order.

The ITIL (IT infrastructure library) framework drives the adoption of a comprehensive service catalogue to help ensure that available services can be found by people within the organization. Information Security is in the process of refreshing its list of services on the University’s service catalogue, and this talk will describe the goals and approaches being taken to provide useful information to prospective users of Information Security services.